


Coming Home

by aaliyahhigurashireborn



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Marines, Military, SantaIsAReylo, Secret Santa, Welcome Home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 19:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13173801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aaliyahhigurashireborn/pseuds/aaliyahhigurashireborn
Summary: Whew folks, it's been a busy and rough holiday this year.  Between pregnancy bumps (no pun intended), meeting with all the family, and trying to manage sanity, I was barely able to squeeze this in.  Sorry that it's late, but I wanted to follow through with my obligation.  So here is it, enjoy @ceallaigheirinn





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Whew folks, it's been a busy and rough holiday this year. Between pregnancy bumps (no pun intended), meeting with all the family, and trying to manage sanity, I was barely able to squeeze this in. Sorry that it's late, but I wanted to follow through with my obligation. So here is it, enjoy @ceallaigheirinn

“Will you take this letter to the post office for me?” Rey held out her occupied hand as Leia took the letter with a smile.

“Ben should be home any day now, why not keep it and read it to him yourself?” Rey shrugged, trying to keep the worry from her face.

“You never know what will happen. Best to be able to send him love like this.” Rey turned back toward her desk and cleaned up her writing supplies. Ben had been deployed for over a year now, and his last request to Rey was very simple: 'Write to me and let me know I'm not alone in this world.' It was a simple enough task, and she had done plenty of research on the topic. Talk about current events to make sure that your soldier feels included, pray for them, send them motivational pieces, topics of that sort.

It hadn't been too difficult, and Ben had always written back as soon as he could. But sometimes that time span would last over a month or two; one time had been a six month dry spell with no information given to Rey. The battlefield had been very active as of late, and although Rey understood, it was hard leaving so much up to fate and circumstances. The longest stretch of silence left nothing but anxiety and sickness in its trail, and Rey had taken a bit to come back to the world of the living when she'd finally received his letter.

Hopefully Rey wouldn't find herself left in the lonely dark again for a while.

* * *

 

Ben's letter was full of his disdain for sand (the same sentiment spoken by his grandfather in years past), as well as how much he missed home. Rey smiled to herself as he talked about how he had taken the lush greenery for granted. Ben had always wanted to escape his hometown, and had done so in a big way. The title of 'marine' carried so much prestige, and knowing that Ben was fighting for his country, Rey couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in her heart.

He asked about how Rey was, and if she was eating enough. He'd always been worried about how small she was, even when they would spar before he went to basic. She'd beaten him, if only barely, and the sentiment stuck with her. Rey was not weak, but Ben's concern was sweet.

When she reached the bottom of the letter, her smile quickly turned into a frown. Most of the time he'd mentioned something about coming home soon, but there was no indication of time listed. She went back and read it at least another three times, but nothing. Only his concern.

Rey took off into the living room, finding Leia typing up an email for the Senate's consideration. “Did Ben tell you anything about his upcoming vacation dates?”

“Was it not listed in his letter?” Leia took off her glasses and squinted at Rey for a moment.

“No.” Rey bit her lip and worked the letter through both hands in nervousness.

“I wouldn't worry too much about it, maybe he forgot. You know he'd forget his head if it wasn't attached.”

“Yeah, sure.” Rey made her way back toward the bedroom slowly, trying to make sense of it all. Ben was sentimental, especially about dates. Something didn't feel right.

* * *

 

Rey had no idea why Leia had left most of her shopping until two days before Christmas. The very idea seemed absurd, and extremely lazy where Leia was concerned. She was always the person motivating everyone else to be timely and punctual about as many things as possible. Of course that didn't cut down on many fights between herself and Han, but she tried. Knowing that the two hour trip into town was going to be filled with debates between Han and Leia, Rey begrudgingly climbed in the car and turned on her music. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

 

“Wake up honey, we're here.” Rey blinked a couple of times before she realized that the car had stopped. She took in her surroundings and was a bit baffled; apparently they'd taken a detour. Leia offered a hand and helped Rey up out of the car.

“Why are we at the airport?” Leia wore a sneaky smile on her face that spoke volumes of mischief.

“One of your Christmas presents is here, and we decided to pick _him_ up ourselves.” Rey's heart started pounding in her chest. She got ready to run, but Leia grabbed her arm, holding her back. “It's best to make them wait sometimes.”

“How did you know? I came and asked you if you knew the date because he didn't list it in the letter. You acted like you didn't know a thing!”

“He called me a couple days ago and asked that I not tell you. He wanted it to be a surprise.” Rey wanted to shake Leia as hard as she could, but instead she settled for a tight squeeze.

“You will all be the death of me.” The two women looked across the parking lot and saw Ben and Han making their way to the car. When Ben's eyes met Rey, he dropped his backpack and took off at a sprint, throwing her around in a hug as they met. Tears fell from both cheeks as they exchanged their first kiss in over a year.

“I've missed you so much, sweetheart.” They just held each other for what seemed like an eternity, until Han cleared his throat, reminding them of reality. Rey chuckled and just stared at Ben, her soldier finally home once more. They made their way to the car slowly, talking about the Christmas holiday and all of the people coming to the house to see Ben again. Rey laughed as she watched him cringe, but snuggled into him for both their comfort. Han and Leia began debating among themselves once more, leaving Rey and Ben to catch up.

“I can't believe it's already been a year. I've missed you so much.”

“Good, because I don't intend to let you leave the house until we are fully reacquainted.” Rey blushed, feeling her heart race again.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world.” She kissed him softly, conveying all the love she possibly could for the moment. It had been far too long.

* * *

 


End file.
